Computer networks generally comprise various interconnected computing devices that can communicate with each other via network packets to exchange data. When small numbers of devices are interconnected, the devices can be directly connected to each other. For example, one device can be directly connected to another device via a network link and the devices can communicate by sending packets to one another over the network link. However, direct connections between large numbers of devices is not scalable. Thus, the connections between large numbers of devices will typically be via indirect connections. For example, one device can be connected to another device via an interconnection network comprising one or more routers.
An interconnection network can be created from a small number of large routers. However, large routers can be expensive and a small number of them may provide limited redundancy. Instead, an interconnection network can be constructed from lower cost commodity equipment interconnected as a network fabric. A network fabric can include multiple nodes interconnected by multiple network links. A node can include a networking device that can originate, transmit, receive, forward, and/or consume information within the network. For example, a node can be a router, a switch, a bridge, an endpoint, or a host computer. The network fabric can be architected or organized as a topology of the nodes and links of the communication system. For example, the network fabric can be organized as a multi-tier network fabric such that a packet traversing the network fabric passes through multiple intermediary nodes associated with the different tiers of the multi-tier network.
An operator of a network fabric may desire to provide high availability and throughput through the network fabric. Thus, the operator may monitor the components of the network fabric for indications of dropped or lost packets, service degradation, component failures, or congestion within the network fabric. However, monitoring such a network fabric can be a difficult task due to the large number of network devices and links, and it can be difficult to detect and isolate network problems.